Treatment programs and community support integral to fighting drug problem

By Erik CliburnMoberly Monitor-Index

Thursday

Aug 16, 2018 at 1:11 PM

Decrease in funding creating strain for drug court professionals

In Randolph County, and across the state, Drug Court Treatment Programs have become increasingly popular in the legal system as an alternative to incarceration for non-violent drug offenders.

Despite the treatment programs’ success and an increase in opioid usage, however, state funding for the programs have started to dry up. For 2018, statewide, the treatment programs requested $29 million, but were only given $6.7 million

In 2016, 908 Missourians died due to heroin and prescription opioid overdoses. As of Dec. 31, 2016, there were 32,461 offenders in Missouri state prisons. Of those, 7,422 had drug or DWI convictions, according to the Drug Courts Coordinating Commission.

Drug issues are not exclusive to Missouri. In the United States, two-thirds of all adult arrestees and over half of juvenile arrestees test positive for illicit drugs at arrest. The national recidivism rate for drug offenses is nearly 67 percent. As many as 80 percent of child abuse and neglect cases and nearly 50 percent of domestic violence cases are substance-abuse related.

Incarceration of drug-using offenders costs between $20,000-50,000 per person each year. The capital costs of building a prison cell can be as much as $80,000. In contrast, a drug court program costs, on average, between $1,500-11,000 annually for each offender, according to the Missouri Association of Treatment Court Professionals.

LEGAL PROCESS

Prosecutors are responsible for screening the offenders for drug court eligibility. Once an arrest is made, they review the charges, determine if the offender would make a good candidate and talk to the offender about volunteering for the drug court. If the offender agrees to participate, the prosecutor may be responsible for explaining the program and have them sign locally required waivers for entry. Once in the courtroom, the prosecutor is non-adversarial in the process.

During his time as Randolph County prosecutor, Mike Fusselman has had many cases involving the Drug Court Treatment Programs. He said that for non-violent drug offenders, focusing on treatment is often more beneficial to the community and to the offender.

“In reality, figuring out how to help people come back to this community where their family is at, and getting them on the right track so they don’t reoffend is one of the best things [the courts] can do,” Fusselman said. “They are going to be among the people in our community.”

Fusselman said that first-time, non-violent drug offenders are generally not in dire need of drug court programs, whereas repeat offenders are unable to get over their addiction through traditional methods.

“We try to look at those individual cases and make a decision that deters dealers, or incarcerates them for a while so they cannot deal,” Fusselman said. “With the addicts, there has been a trend recently, instead of taking your first-time (felony) offenders, … we saw a shift to start taking on the tougher cases, where addicts had taken a few bites of the apple, but hadn’t been able to accomplish what they need to yet.”

Fusselman said that due to this switch in focus to repeat drug offenders, recidivism rates are not as low as they could be. He said, however, that it is important that the program dedicates its limited resources to those who need it most.

“Obviously, our success in drug court went down if you’re measuring it by reoffending over time, but at the same time, we’ve had a lot of people come up to us over the years and thank us,” Fusselman said. “It just occurs to us that suddenly they’ve been off the grid for a while. They have a family, they have a job, everything is going good for them. A large part of what really happens there is, even though we provide the services and a support mechanism for them, there comes a point, for some people, where they are able to just say that they are done.”

Judges are central to the overall success of the drug court program. Drug court participants speak directly with a judge instead of through counsel. It is during this time the judge lets the offender know what is expected of him or her regarding the program and recovery process, the legal aspects of the program and will provide the sanctions and rewards as needed.

“I’m so proud of drug court,” 14th Circuit Judge Scott Hayes said. “When you turn somebody’s life around and you give them back to their family ... words can’t express the feelings you get at a drug court graduation.”

While remaining in a non-adversarial role with the prosecuting attorney, defense attorneys work with their clients to discuss the option of the drug court program and works in the best interest of the client. Defense attorneys often assist with the reinforcement of the person’s successful recovery. If the person is failing the program, the attorney will often remind their client that they will face criminal charges.

Many other roles also play a factor into the success of drug court programs, including probation and parole officers, treatment providers, the county clerk and community residents.

Fusselman and Hayes both agree that despite the program’s success, community support is the best way to fight the drug epidemic.

elciburn@moberlymonitor.com

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